Marketing and advertising are such critical business activities, that most businesses find it necessary to keep spending on these line items even when the business’ very survival is at stake.  Naturally, many businesses have turned to outsourcing to cut costs.  However, cost cutting is not the only reason to outsource the marketing function; outsourcing can also allow a business to access a more talented group of marketing professionals who will bring a unique and fresh perspective to meet the business’ needs and objectives.

Here are some of the benefits that can be derived from outsourcing the marketing activities.

Create an ideal marketing department

The traditional ad agency is usually staffed with right-brained personnel such as: designers, writers, and web developers.  The new brand of marketing services providers is now adding some left-brained talent to the mix.  These professionals balance the mix, by bringing skills to plan brand strategies; do sales analysis; handle data base segmentation and provide retail ROI projections.  This mix, of the creative and the analytical, create a more balanced pool of talents that would be very difficult to assemble in one company and would be expensive to compensate, especially on a limited budget.

Focus on the core business

All businesses have limited resources, especially human resources, so outsourcing some of these peripheral activities can help a business to focus on what it does best, while having someone else handle matters that are outside their scope of expertise.

Get an outsider’s perspective

Often managers and business owners are so close to the action that they fail to see the bigger picture and some unique opportunities that are obscured by their clouded vision.  Those involved in running the business may be so overwhelmed with the day-to-day operational matters, that they may have little time to keep abreast of the latest technologies that could give the business a competitive edge.

Outsourcing may also expose opportunities that were previously being overlooked.

Control costs

Marketing activities tend to be most intense when a product is being launched and during the development of a new marketing and advertising strategy.  If the marketing is done internally, the company must still carry the overhead costs of staffing and running the marketing department, even though the marketing staff may be temporarily under-employed.  This fixed cost can be converted to a variable cost by outsourcing the marketing function and contracting the required set of services only when it is needed.

Eliminating the fixed costs that come with running an in-house marketing department also makes the operation leaner and the business more attractive to investors. This is so because more of the investment dollar can go toward the activities that actually generate revenue. Even if marketing services provider charges a premium to perform an outsourced service, they can still contribute to huge savings in the long term.

Summary 

Marketing and advertising are not only used to increase sales but also to maintain current sales levels and to polish a company’s image. The marketing strategy that works best often involves more than the creative elements but also data analysis and sales forecasting, to name a few.  However, assembling a pool of talents to accomplish the overall marketing an advertising objective can be very challenging and expensive, which is why all businesses should seriously consider the outsourcing option.